Dramatic finale and a tight defeat against FMP

In the last act of 2020, the Dragons recorded an 88:91 defeat against FMP in Belgrade. Jurica Golemec’s team led by five points with less than two minutes until the end of the match but the home team clinched the victory in the last seconds of the match.

The Cedevita Olimpija team fought for the win until the last seconds of the duel against FMP. In the end, the Ljubljana team had to concede defeat with 88:91 to the Panthers at the sound of the buzzer in the hall in Železnik, and the Dragons’ record after nine matches in the ABA League now stands at six wins and three losses.

The Dragons opened the match against their opponents in red and white jerseys with plenty of energy in defense and consistency in the offense, and after less than two minutes of play, they gained a double-digit lead. The home team managed to neutralize the Ljubljana run with points from the players off the bench and tied the score at 44 points by the half-time break. The score was also tied after the third quarter, in which both teams scored 24 points. The tense last quarter came down to a dramatic finale, in which the Ljubljana team gained the 84:79 lead after the three-pointers by Jarrod Jones and Jaka Blažič with 2:44 minutes left on the clock. After a time-out, the Belgrade team responded with two threes, thus turning the match in their favor. Captain Blažič tried to force extra time with a shot from a difficult position just before the end of playing time, but the match ended in favor of FMP.

Jarrod Jones, who was in the starting lineup for the second time this season of the ABA League, was the top scorer in the Dragons’ ranks with 24 points. He was followed by Jaka Blažič, who added 17 points and seven assists. Rion Brown, who collected 13, also scored in double digits as well as Kendrick Perry, who stopped at 12 points and six assists.

The Ljubljana team will spend New Year’s eve in the Serbian capital, where they will face Mega Soccerbet in the 13th round of the ABA League on January 2, at 19:00. The Dragons will play their first home game in 2021 on January 5, when they will host the Budučnost Voli at the delayed game of the 5th round of the regional championship in Arena Stožice.

IZJAVI PO TEKMI

Jurica Golemac, glavni trener Cedevite Olimpije: 
“Congratulations to FMP for a well-deserved victory. We again did not respond to the opponent’s rebounding, we were facing the same problems once again. The defense of the home team kept us away from the paint. When we gained the advantage, they managed to get back in the game, so the FMP victory was deserved”

Jarrod Jones, igralec Cedevite Olimpije: 
“We knew it was going to be a hard battle for the whole game. We had to play for 40 minutes. On a couple of possessions we had a lack of focus and they executed and made good runs down the stretch. We just have to put our minds together and come back strong for the next game.«

ABA LEAGUE, ROUND 6

Košarkaška dvorana FMP (Belgrade, Serbia), Wednesday, December 30:
CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA – FMP 88:93 (20:27, 24:17, 24:24, 24:19)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović, Perry 12 (6 assists), Hopkins 4 (12 rebounds), Murić 11, Ukić 5, Blažič 17 (7 assists), Hodžić 2, Jones 24, Dimec, Brown 13, Marinković, Duščak.

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